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Participating Frequently
October 31, 2007
Question

Photoshop CS3 color management "Save for Web" problem

  • October 31, 2007
  • 680 replies
  • 62136 views
This problem is getting the best of me.......

After spending 3 full days researching this problem, I am no closer to finding an answer than when I started. I still cannot produce a usable image through the "Save for Web" feature of Photoshop CS3. I have read web page after web page of "Tips, Tricks and Recommendations" from dozens of experts, some from this forum, and still I have no solution... I am exhausted and frustrated to say the least. Here's the simple facts that I know at this point.

I have a web design project that was started in PS CS1. All artwork was created in photoshop and exported to JPG format by using "Save for Web". Every image displays correctly in these browsers (Safari, Camino, FireFox and even Internet Explorer on a PC).

I have recently upgraded to PS CS3 and now cannot get any newly JPG'd image to display correctly. My original settings in CS1 were of no concern to me at the time, because it always just worked, and so I do not know what they were. I have opened a few of my previous images in CS3 and found that sRGB-2.1 displays them more or less accurately. I am using sRGB 2.1 working space. Upon openning these previous image files, I get the "Missing Profile" message and of course I select "Leave as is. Do Not color manage". CS3 assumes sRGB-2.1 working space, opens the file, and all is well.

The problem is when I go to "Save for Web", the saturation goes up, and the colors change. The opposite of what most people are reporting. Here's another important point... new artwork created in CS3 does exactly the same thing, so it's not because of the older CS1 files.

I have tried every combination of "uncompensated color", "Convert to sRGB", "ICC Profile", etc. while saving. I have Converted to sRGB before saving, and my monitor is calibrated correctly.
I have tried setting the "Save for Web" page on 2-up and the "original" on the left is already color shifted before I even hit the "Save" button. Of course, the "Optimized" image on the right looks perfect because I am cheating by selecting the "Use Document Color Profile" item. Why do they even have this feature if doesn't work, or misleads you?

Does anyone have any ideas what could be happening here? Why is this all so screwed up?
CS1 worked fine out of the box.

Final note: I do have an image file I could send along that demonstrates how it is possible to display an image exactly the same in all 4 of the browsers I mentioned with no color differences. It is untagged RGB and somehow it just works.

I am very frustrated with all of this and any suggestions will be appreciated

Thanks,
Pete
    This topic has been closed for replies.

    680 replies

    Ramón G Castañeda
    Inspiring
    November 7, 2007
    G B,
    >This makes my point that unmanageable html page color, untagged graphics, and tagged sRGB in color-managed browsers is mixing apples with oranges...

    Point well taken.
    November 7, 2007
    g & Peter, that's what I see also in both Safari and Firefox.
    Participating Frequently
    November 7, 2007
    Raven, firefox is not colour managed and will not show the differences. In a non-colour managed browser, they will turn out as you described. In a colour-managed one like Safari on the Mac, BCE look similar to me, A and D are a bit redder, and G looks like a darker brownish colour. Dirk probably started making his colour out of different colour spaces and then converted (or not) and posted the images without a profile (I think one had the profile in it).
    This shows the importance of colour spaces and knowing what you're doing. If you don't, your colour will be unpredictable on other's screens. Using your monitor profile for your images means that it will only look good for you, and for others, it will be a toss-up depending on how well your monitor is calibrated.
    Participating Frequently
    November 7, 2007
    So F and G are the same file -- sRGB -- except F is untagged sRGB and G is tagged sRGB.

    In SAFARI:
    The page color and untagged srgb (F) are both having the monitor profile applied/assigned/assumed so they match -- they are being treated the same. G is honoring the embedded profile and Converting to Monitor RGB so it is different.

    In FIREFOX:
    F&G are both sRGB (FF doesn't see G's profile) so the page, F and G all are being treated the same and therefore they match.

    This makes my point that unmanageable html page color, untagged graphics, and tagged sRGB in color-managed browsers is mixing apples with oranges...
    November 7, 2007
    How I did "F" was that I went into Edit> Color Settings and set the Working Space from Adobe RGB (1998) to sRGB IEC61966-2.1... A thru E were set at Adobe RGB (1998). Also on the "F", the original image was an Untagged RGB. When I went to SFW I unchecked the "Convert to sRGB. "G" is the same except I checked "Convert to sRGB".
    Participating Frequently
    November 7, 2007
    sRGB profile colorspace is a common standard colorspace for monitors.
    >> what's the point in calibrating then?

    BECAUSE in order for Photoshop, color-managed applications, to display color accurately, the monitor needs a good calibrated profile to tell it HOW to paint the colors on screen.

    For now, this is all I have....May I suggest reading anything by Bruce Fraser, especially Real World Color Management (Paperback) by Bruce Fraser (Author), Fred Bunting (Author), Chris Murphy (Author)
    November 7, 2007
    Dirk, to my naked eye, A thru E look identical and are brighter than the background. F & G match the background exactly.

    Viewed in latest Firefox and using my calibrated monitor profile.
    Participating Frequently
    November 7, 2007
    F is the closest in Safari.
    November 7, 2007
    g ballard, I'm interested in trying your sRGB monitor profile test. Would you recommend "sRGB Profile" or "sRGB IEC61966-2.1"?

    One thing that confuses me here is that you seem to be suggesting that a monitor profile that is different than sRGB will yield bad results in PS, or in SFW anyway. But what's the point in calibrating then? sRGB is an unacceptable monitor profile for me to use for print work. I believe this is the missing link in my comprehension of color management.

    Meanwhile...I've come to agree that I shouldn't use Monitor RGB as my working profile or as an embedded profile in my image files. (I still prefer Adobe RGB as the best color space for making adjustment and colour corrections.) But I think I should be converting to Monitor RGB before using SFW. That's the only way I know of on my system to get a browser-displayed JPG that looks the same as my PS file. I can't control what it looks like on other monitors of course, but I can only control what I can control.
    Participating Frequently
    November 7, 2007
    F (which is untagged, likely untagged sRGB?)

    Which one is tagged sRGB?